One in five Americans - 62 million people - live and work in rural areas. State Offices of Rural Health, other state and rural healthcare providers, industry partners, and agencies across the country will observe National Rural Health Day on Thursday, November 17, 2016. The overriding theme of National Rural Health Day, "The Power of Rural," strives to give a voice to the efforts of those who are working to serve the unique healthcare needs that exist in America's rural communities.

As part of National Rural Health Day, the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) will present a series of free webinars on timely rural health topics targeting rural hospital leaders, physicians, and other rural health stakeholders. One of the National Rural Health Day web discussions includes a rural health policy update, and another is focused on collaborative Federal efforts related to rural disparities, access and innovation.

Other sessions (30-minutes each) in the day's line-up feature industry experts discussing topics that range from farmer health, research on data-driven solutions to manage population health, and another focused on strategies for reversing out-migration; patients leaving their rural communities for their care.

In addition to the live web sessions, State Offices of Rural Health and their partners around the country will celebrate National Rural Health Day with events, photo contests, and working with schools and students with an interest in the health care profession. Also, in recognition of National Rural Health Day and the 25th anniversary of the State Offices of Rural Health grant program, NOSORH will release its annual publication, "Community Stars," a collection of stories about people and organizations who have made a positive impact in rural communities across the nation.

Finally, on November 17, 2016, NOSORH will launch a major year-long initiative called "Pledge to Partner," now featured on PowerofRural.org. The initiative will call on rural health organizations, companies that serve rural health providers, and all those for whom rural health matters, to commit to four specific calls to action: Innovate, Collaborate, Educate, and Communicate. At a time when rural health funding and policies must be in place to ensure the needs of rural communities are met, the Pledge to Partner aims to mobilize rural health stakeholders to focus on solutions.

NOSORH is asking all those celebrating National Rural Health Day to take to social media and make #PowerofRural a trending topic. www.nosorh.org/nrhd.